1. What’s New in Agora

This page highlights the major new capabilities of Agora, starting with what is new in version 8. Each feature is designed to reduce manual work, improve collaboration, and give you greater control over how your data is managed. For the complete list of changes see the Changelog.

1.1. Anatomy Detection — Know What Is in Your Data

New in version 8. Agora now looks at the images of every imported Study and detects the anatomy on its own — head, heart, knee, spine, and more. Cardiac scans are classified further, down to the view and the type of acquisition.

Highlights

  • No manual labelling — Studies are classified automatically shortly after import, and existing data is picked up by a nightly job.

  • Cardiac labels — Series of cardiac Studies get a short label such as CINE-SAX or T1-4CH.

  • Searchable — the detected values are found by the quick search.

  • Optional tags — per project, show the anatomy as a badge in the Tags column or turn it into a real tag you can filter on.

  • You stay in control — every detected value shows its confidence and can be corrected by hand; a manual value is never overwritten.

Full documentation →

1.2. Task Store — Share Tasks and Triggers

New in version 8. The Task Store is a shared library of Tasks and Triggers hosted by GyroTools. Import what others have built into your project with one click, and publish your own definitions for others to use.
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Highlights

  • Browse and import — search the store and import a Task or Trigger into the current project.

  • Publish — share a Task or Trigger from your own project, and edit or remove your entries later.

  • Export and import files — Tasks and Triggers can also be exchanged as .json files, and copied or moved between projects.

  • Valid column — the Task and Trigger lists flag definitions that still need configuration after an import.

Full documentation →

1.3. Booking Access Control — Decide Who Books What

New in version 8. Every booking resource now has its own access list and booking rules, and can be looked after by a resource manager instead of a superuser.

Highlights

  • Roles per resource — Manager, User, Observer, or No access, with a default role for everyone else.

  • Resource managers — manage the resource, its bookings, and its statistics, and book on behalf of other users.

  • Booking limits — restrict how far ahead and how long a resource can be booked, set a weekly quota per user, and define how long a past booking may still be corrected.

Full documentation →

1.4. Triggers — Automated Workflows with Python

The trigger engine has been completely rebuilt. You can now write Python scripts for both the filter and the action — giving you full programmatic control over how Agora responds to data events.
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What changed

  • Python script filter — write arbitrary Python logic to decide whether a trigger fires: filter by acquisition parameter, scanner name, patient metadata, or any combination.

  • Python script action — perform multiple operations in one step: rename the object, create folder structures, link or move it, apply tags, copy to another project, and attach custom parameters — all from a single run(context) function.

  • New events — for example ParameterSet Created (fires when a user submits a parameter form), Tag Added, Manual (triggered on demand), and many more.

  • New actions — for example Rename, Add Tag, Add Parameter, Send Email, Log Message, and many more.

  • Variables with project counters — use named variables in folder-path expressions to auto-assign sequential numbers to incoming studies.

  • Configurable delay — data-arrival events can be delayed so the action runs after all series have arrived.

Full documentation →

1.5. Parameter Forms — Structured Metadata Collection

Parameter Form Templates let project managers define structured data-entry forms for exams, series, patients, and folders. Instead of free-form notes, members fill in typed fields with labels, units, and validation — ensuring consistent metadata across all objects in a project.
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Use cases

  • Quality-assurance checklists attached to each exam after review

  • Subject recruitment forms with controlled vocabularies

  • Acquisition notes for scanner settings

  • Post-processing result capture (scores, grades, classifications)

Two template types

Type

Description

Field List

A straightforward list of fields rendered automatically — each field on its own row with its label, input control, and help text. The right choice for most forms.

HTML Layout

An HTML document you write yourself with [[Set.Field]] placeholders. Agora substitutes input controls at render time, leaving your Bootstrap grid and custom styling intact. Use this for precise two-column layouts or grouped sections.
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../../../_images/parameter_form_fill.jpg

Full documentation →

1.6. Booking System — Schedule Shared Resources

The Booking module lets users reserve time on any shared resource — MRI scanners, lab equipment, rooms — directly from Agora. A weekly calendar view makes it easy to see availability and create or edit bookings without leaving the platform.
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../../../_images/booking_week_view.png

Highlights

  • Weekly calendar grid — one column per day, time-stepped rows, color-coded per resource.

  • Conflict detection — overlap warnings list conflicting bookings and their owners before you save.

  • Recurring bookings — create a repeating series (daily, weekly, or monthly) in one step.

  • Book on behalf — managers can create bookings for other users.

  • Admin view — manage resources and groups, and review usage statistics per resource.

../../../_images/booking_create_form.png

Full documentation →

1.7. Project Sync & Data Transfer — Connect Agora Instances

Agora can now synchronise entire projects with other Agora instances — on the same server or across the network — and transfer data securely to sites with no shared network connection.

1.7.1. Project Synchronization

Two one-way, additive operations keep projects in sync. Data is never deleted from either project.

Operation

When to use it

Push to…

Send new data from the current project to a central archive or a remote Agora instance.

Pull from…

Bring the current project up to date from a remote or colleague’s project.

Both operations support local projects and remote Agora instances connected via an Agora Server host. Before transferring, Agora shows a Transfer Preview with counts and total data size — nothing moves until you confirm.

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Full documentation →

1.8. DICOM Auto-Routing — Route Incoming Data Automatically

DICOM Auto-Routing lets administrators define rules that automatically direct incoming DICOM studies to the right project — no manual intervention needed. Rules are evaluated in order and the first match wins.
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How it works

Each rule has an action (Move to Project or Ignore) and one or more conditions on DICOM tags. When a study arrives on the Agora DICOM node, the rules are checked in sequence. The first rule whose conditions all match is applied; if no rule matches the study falls through to the default project.

Conditions can test any DICOM tag (e.g. Patient ID, Study Description, Modality) against a value using operators such as Equals, Contains, Greater Than, and more. Multiple conditions within a rule are combined with AND or OR logic.

Full documentation →